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I received the following in reply to my email to Senator Durbin regarding the awarding of U.S. contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq.

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April 29, 2008


Mr. Michael Legel
22023 Allentown Rd.
Tremont, IL 61568

Dear Mr. Legel:

Thank you for writing to me about the awarding of U.S. contracts for the reconstruction of Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.

Since the late 1980s, the move to privatize a wide range of government activities has led to the granting of billion-dollar contracts to a handful of huge companies, many of them politically well-connected. Private military contractors, including roughly 180,000 in Iraq, are involved in U.S. military operations ranging from security and logistics to transportation and the feeding of our troops. If our military is to rely so heavily on private companies, a much more credible system of oversight must be put in place. 

I am a cosponsor of S. 119, the War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007. This measure would establish strong criminal penalties for those who overcharge taxpayers in order to profit excessively from military or reconstruction efforts. It also would criminalize false statements and fraudulent activity by companies that have received federal contracts for such operations. Violators would be subject to imprisonment for up to 20 years or a fine of up to $1 million or twice the gross profits of the crime, whichever is greater.

We have twice tried to pass this bill, and the Senate even approved its provisions as an amendment to a 2003 Iraq spending bill. Despite this approval by the Senate, the amendment was stripped from the bill’s final version due to Administration opposition. We should not protect those who defraud and overcharge the U.S. Government in time of war, particularly in light of the no-bid and secretly bid contracts that have been awarded for rebuilding Iraq.

The Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Authorization Act, which became law on January 28, 2008, contains provisions that try to address waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in Department of Defense (DoD) contracts. Among other provisions, it requires periodic, independent management review of DoD contracts; prohibits the awarding of no-bid contracts and noncompetitive grants; and establishes a commission on wartime contracting that would investigate contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Both the House and the Senate have conducted oversight hearings on military contracting this year. In addition to examining war profiteering, we must take a critical look at whether this nation has gone too far in its integration of contractors into a vast array of governmental activities. I will continue to work to promote greater fairness, transparency and accountability in the way the federal government funds our military and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and elsewhere.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me about this important issue. Please feel free to stay in touch.

Sincerely,



Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
 
RJD/tf

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